Too Many Image Generators
I’m currently playing with about a dozen tools that use AI to generate images and I’m sure there are another dozen that I haven’t touched yet. It’s more than the industry needs and I’m pretty sure many of them will go away in the next six months…either to attrition or acquisition. I expect Adobe to buy up the the best in class and Google to consolidate many of the others. Midjourney will remain due to it’s unique value proposition, Stable Diffusion will stick around because it’s Open Source (see Linux and WordPress, etc), and Canva is as big as Adobe, so it’s not going anywhere. Should you learn all these fringe tools as I currently am? Probably not. Just pick one of these predicted winners and get proficient at it so you can remain employed. Oh, and add Ideogram.ai. I’ve been using it every day and I don’t think it’s going away. They dropped the waiting list and it’s now free for everyone to use (and browser based). This is the first AI tool that generates text, and while not always perfect, has great potential. Remember, it was only six months ago that we were laughing at Midjourney about extra fingers. So I’m recording this snapshot in time. On September 4, 2023, generative tools could do this.
Ominous Warnings for the Future
While the AI boosters love to talk about the glorious future where we’re all wealthy and have leisure time (or at least they do), perhaps they should read this sobering piece about how it could all collapse.
Or this article about three ways that AI progress could stall. Note, having a background in Economics and/or Computer Science will make this one easier to read.
I think we’re already at that place where the web isn’t fun anymore, but this article explores what might happen as more and more sites try to shelter that content from voracious AI scraper bots. Paywalls everywhere.
For the UX Designers
Are you ready to do a deep dive on how to establish trust and set expectations with your (AI tool) users? Don’t worry, Irina Nik has you covered
Are you building a Pattern Library of all the different generative tools and assistants so you can reference it later? Don’t worry, Kshitij Agrawal has you covered
Did you know that there are a set of principles for how to design an autonomous agent? I didn’t, but now I do because Mikael Hveem has you covered
For the Educators (or Parents)
As I’ve mentioned before, I have two teenagers, and I’m telling them (as well as my students) that ignoring generative tools is not an option. If you have questions or concerns about how generative AI can be used in the classroom, here’s a good place to start (from OpenAI).
And here’s a summary of that information, but from an external source.
Midjourney Specific
What’s in store for Midjourney v.6? Higher image quality, improved hands, 3D, and a browser based interface. Read more
I had been struggling with applying realistic textures such as porcelain or aluminum to my human subjects, but (as always) this article from Paul DelSignore helped clear things up.
That’s it for this week, hope your final week of summer was fantastic. Do you want something explored in greater detail? Send me a message! And please send this newsletter to your friends!